If you’re new here – and lots of you are this week – this is where I collect together the most interesting VR-related links that I’ve found over the past seven days.

I’m interested in virtual reality as both a user and as an investor, so expect a mix of great new games, interesting non-gaming uses of VR, hardware announcement, and general industry news, as well as links to a lot of the weird random stuff that people are doing with VR. I hope you’ll discover at least a few things per week that you would have otherwise missed.

As always, please get in touch if you’re working on something in VR or have a link you think I should include in next week’s edition. Also, if you like my newsletter would you mind sharing it?

Galactica, the new coaster at Merlin Entertainment’s Alton Towers in Staffordshire, has been running for about a month now, but yesterday left riders hanging, suspended in mid-air for around 30 minutes.

Two NASA crew members came face-to-face with an asteroid yesterday. The astronauts left their vehicle to float above the surface of the asteroid, collecting rock and soil samples. And they did it all without leaving the space habitat mockup at Johnson Space Center.

NextVR, the livestreaming immersive video platform, has partnered with NBC Sports Group to give Gear VR users the sort of ‘up close and personal’ look that only VR headsets can provide.

Coverage will feature surrounding views of everything from the paddock to the track, and finishing in the winner’s circle. A total of seven NextVR cameras will be used for the presentation from Churchill Downs, five of which will allow users different trackside views of the race.

Zen Blade is a sword skill action game designed specifically for VR with motion controllers. This is a game for everyone, that’s easy to get into and strangely addicting once you start. Go ahead, enter the dojo!

Think of EchoPixel’s tech like InnerSpace but instead of actually minimizing scientists and shooting them into your body to find disease, the medical imaging startup lets doctors pinpoint problem areas from CT scans using 3D glasses and a special display.

Will Samsung release a new Gear VR alongside the Galaxy Note 6? The current version of the Gear VR comes with a microUSB port, so it would be logical to expect a new Gear VR – the second-generation model if you must – with a USB Type-C connector.

Dexta Robotics is pioneering what they see as the next logical step for immersive experiences, being able to touch the virtual world, and to feel it push back. Their Dexmo VR gloves are designed to provide resistance to the wearer, corresponding to their interaction with the VR environment.

A small number of Rifts will be available for purchase at select Best Buy stores starting May 7 and online from Microsoft and Amazon, starting May 6 at 9am PST. Quantities will be extremely limited while we catch up on Rift pre-orders.

Across the Pacific Ocean in Shenzhen, China, in the markets of Huaqiangbei, the factories in Dongguan, and in the high rise offices of Nanshan, is where demand and supply for VR hardware and software are on par, if not outpacing, the US.

Next VR is teaming up with concert promoter Live Nation to stream “hundreds” of performances in virtual reality to fans worldwide. To increase the you-are-there feeling that makes VR broadcasts unique, it’s planning “optimized” 3D audio to go along with the views from the front row, on-stage and backstage.

HTC’s stock dropped today amid confirmation the Taiwan-based company responsible for the Vive VR headset has established a subsidiary called the “HTC Vive Tech Corp.” Rumors suggested the company was considering spinning out its VR technology unit to separate it from the struggling phone business.

Across key countries in North America and Europe, an average of 11% of the online population between 10 and 65 state that they are planning to buy VR products in the next six months. Half of Western consumers have no interest in buying VR products (yet) and another 8% are not aware of it at all.

Well-made virtual reality content is undoubtedly powerful and will, by most filmmakers’ admissions, dominate the future of the immersive video content that consumers absorb. There are a lot of roadblocks, however, on the way to what many see as the cosmic inevitability of this platform dominating film.